In the midst of an arms race with the Boston Red Sox, who won the AL East last year, Cashman told the New York Post the Yankees are playing catch-up despite advancing deeper into the playoffs. He actually called the Yankees "The Little Engine That Could" in an appearance on ESPN yesterday.

“They are the American League East champs so we are not on equal footing,’’ the Yankees’ general manager said Wednesday during a team workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “We were a wild card. They are the American League East champs and we are not. We are not on equal footing until we take it away from them.’’

The Yankees and Red Sox perennially have two of the highest payrolls in baseball. They are considered marquee landing spots for free agents and ideal places for great young players to re-sign and spend their entire careers. Only in a world limited to these two teams could either of them be considered much of an underdog.

And the Yankees, by the way, added Giancarlo Stanton their lineup — you know, the NL MVP who led league with 59 home runs last season. Aaron Judge, who won AL Rookie of the Year for the Yankees, came in second with 52 home runs.

To be clear, this isn't about claiming the Eagles are the only team worthy of the underdog designation. It's just an emphatic rejection of the Yankees ever being an underdog. They are baseball's Goliath. They should embrace that to the grave and stick to selling hot dogs.